Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So I'd like to provide a little back history before I ask the question I intend to.

My name is Justin, I've been into gaming most of my life in one form or another and I've never been satisfied with normal jobs, nor have I been satisfied with the few local (or localish) gaming establishments that I've been too. I started GMing, Judging, and BattleMastering (RPG, Various Card Games, Miniatures, Warhammer, MechWarrior, StarWarsMinis etc etc) and through my time at the local shop the owner never would listen to what the other judges, players, or what I had to say. He failed in many areas, that could have been avoided, had he tried to provide the products we desired, instead we all went to another location or eBay simply because he would not put things on the shelves, did not support the games he allowed to be played at his store, did not push for prize support (without the gamers pretty much doing it for him) nor did he do any tournaments, painting contests, nothing, and most of that is stuff us judges would have helped with or already were trying to help with.

For a long time I've been wanting to start my own local store and to mirror that I finally transferred to a 4-year college and I am currently working towards a degree in business administration.

Now, that being said (and now that you know a bit about me) I am really passionate about what I want to do and I want to listen to what gamers have to say because, after all, if not for you folks the local stores would not exist, you pay for their overhead and you put money in the pockets of the employees so that they may eat.

My question is, would anyone here be interested in taking part in a survey (kind of like a email thing) where they would answer some questions, provide feedback, idea, and so forth to help me get a feel for the opinions and thoughts of gamers 'not' local. You can only get so much information from a certain pool of individuals, increasing the range of people asked will give me a better idea of what the 'majority' of gamers would like to see and what ultimately keeps them making purchases.

I am in a marketing course, and we are being informed on the market research process, so if you are not interested in sharing your thoughts and opinions with me I understand, but if you'd like to that would be great and might help influence a new store in its creation. On that same note, I am also in entrepreneurship and my final project in the course is a business plan which the instructor has already stated would be comparable to a real one and with some fine tuning could be used as my actual business plan in the future.

Feel free to drop some responses here, I'd like to see what the community thinks about taking part before I move forward.

I'd be happy to take your survey. The biggest thing I can think of is to remember that the loudest people aren't necessarily representative of the majority. They're just loud. I've seen some places where the owner capitulates to the demands of the loudmouths, and the business folds because the quieter majority is displeased with the decision. Of course, if there's a significant portion of your customer saying the same thing, you can't ignore them. It's a hard balancing act to manage, but it's kind of essential.

I'd suggest also taking a business course if you want to open your own store. That marketing one should help it nicely though.

You see too many of them fail cause they're a gamer first and businessperson second. There are a couple of Dakka members with invaluable insight on this like Mikhaila.

n0t_u wrote:I'd suggest also taking a business course if you want to open your own store. That marketing one should help it nicely though.

You see too many of them fail cause they're a gamer first and businessperson second. There are a couple of Dakka members with invaluable insight on this like Mikhaila.

This, you are running a business, granted, its a niche hobby oriented one, but its still a business. PM me and ill send you my email, id be fine filling out a survey

Eidolon wrote:

n0t_u wrote:I'd suggest also taking a business course if you want to open your own store. That marketing one should help it nicely though.

You see too many of them fail cause they're a gamer first and businessperson second. There are a couple of Dakka members with invaluable insight on this like Mikhaila.

This, you are running a business, granted, its a niche hobby oriented one, but its still a business. PM me and ill send you my email, id be fine filling out a survey

n0t_u wrote:I'd suggest also taking a business course if you want to open your own store. That marketing one should help it nicely though.

You see too many of them fail cause they're a gamer first and businessperson second. There are a couple of Dakka members with invaluable insight on this like Mikhaila.

Guessing both of you missed the part where I said I was going to school for Business Administration But yeah, I've taken business law, macro/microeconomics, business finance, and so forth (all were prerequisites for the program I am in, also have my Associates knocked out for the transfer credits).

And I totally realize that being a gamer and not a business man can hurt a business, but I'd say the reverse is true too, a Hobby Store Owner who has no passion or knowledge in the products he is selling would likely be unsuccessful as well. Seems like you need a little of both, some business sense and some passion for what it is you are doing/selling, I wouldn't want to be in charge of selling games at GameStop and not have some knowledge/passion for the products I am selling (kind of hard to make a sale without being enthusiastic and knowledgeable).

I saw the part where you said you were in a course for marketing and assumed there was a reason you were being specific. I guess I just skimmed it, good that you're going in the right direction.

Good luck with it.

I'd take your survey. I'm usually pretty vocal about what I love/hate in game stores. I just found a new one to avoid permanently on something I consider to be "douchey customer dis-service." I also used to work in a game store, so I know a fair thing or two about selling/stocking GW and other games. However, as others have suggested, talk to Mikhaila. He's probably the best guy/most knowledgable on here.

I'd take a survey, help ou tin anyway I can ... from ohio anyway.

n0t_u wrote:I saw the part where you said you were in a course for marketing and assumed there was a reason you were being specific. I guess I just skimmed it, good that you're going in the right direction.

Good luck with it.

Thanks

timetowaste85 wrote:I'd take your survey. I'm usually pretty vocal about what I love/hate in game stores. I just found a new one to avoid permanently on something I consider to be "douchey customer dis-service." I also used to work in a game store, so I know a fair thing or two about selling/stocking GW and other games. However, as others have suggested, talk to Mikhaila. He's probably the best guy/most knowledgable on here.

I look forward to the responses, I wanna try to get a feel for what a wide variety of gamers look for and so forth as to appeal to the masses, not just the on loudmouth in the corner (as you noted).

MAKE A BUSINESS PLAN!

Capitals for emphasis.

I am a corporate suit and a small business owner. Here are some things to consider.

This is a business, and not just for fun. If you want to make it work, you will have to be willing to sink your heart, soul, money, and life into it. If you can't or won't do that; it WILL fail within the first five years.

Also, keep in mind that being a small store owner means you will work 80+ hours a week and make less than you would as a full-time woker at the Home Depot and have no benefits and a bear a huge risk for loss.

Things to keep in mind.

Sure I'll take your survey, us Justins need to stick together.

1. Know your customers’ wants and needs.
2. Know your stock inside out. Know what is selling, what is dead, and what is being shoplifted.
3. Be wary of starting a business because you are enthusiastic about it.
a. You will tend to overlook problems because they are spoiling the dream.
b. You’ll work a lot of hours and it may spoil your hobby even if the business is a success.

4. The secret of success in business is to risk other people’s money. Set up a limited company.
5. You will need a good business plan with accurate cost estimates and so on. Use that to borrow money from the bank.

Kilkrazy wrote:1. Know your customers’ wants and needs.
2. Know your stock inside out. Know what is selling, what is dead, and what is being shoplifted.
3. Be wary of starting a business because you are enthusiastic about it.
a. You will tend to overlook problems because they are spoiling the dream.
b. You’ll work a lot of hours and it may spoil your hobby even if the business is a success.

4. The secret of success in business is to risk other people’s money. Set up a limited company.
5. You will need a good business plan with accurate cost estimates and so on. Use that to borrow money from the bank.

Know who your customers actually are. A game store will have a lot of foot traffic, but 10% of the regulars will be responsible for 30+% of your sales. Another 30-40% will be from people you will never see again. That leaves a small proportion for the majority who are in the story weekly.

No bank is going to loan you money for a game store (been there, tried that). Having your own capital is ideal, but credit cards make a good plan B.

While in school, focus on Accounting and Computers. A game store is a simple enterprise - it more or less works from a check book. You'll need to be familiar with computers because you will be your own IT help.

RanTheCid wrote:

Kilkrazy wrote:1. Know your customers’ wants and needs.
2. Know your stock inside out. Know what is selling, what is dead, and what is being shoplifted.
3. Be wary of starting a business because you are enthusiastic about it.
a. You will tend to overlook problems because they are spoiling the dream.
b. You’ll work a lot of hours and it may spoil your hobby even if the business is a success.

4. The secret of success in business is to risk other people’s money. Set up a limited company.
5. You will need a good business plan with accurate cost estimates and so on. Use that to borrow money from the bank.

Know who your customers actually are. A game store will have a lot of foot traffic, but 10% of the regulars will be responsible for 30+% of your sales. Another 30-40% will be from people you will never see again. That leaves a small proportion for the majority who are in the story weekly.

No bank is going to loan you money for a game store (been there, tried that). Having your own capital is ideal, but credit cards make a good plan B.

While in school, focus on Accounting and Computers. A game store is a simple enterprise - it more or less works from a check book. You'll need to be familiar with computers because you will be your own IT help.

Correct - No bank will loan you money. You need a very good business plan with projections and data on similar businesses. This is nearly impossible to get.

A simple enterprise you can run from a checkbook? This is absolutely wrong. You may not need an accountant, if you have the necessary skills, but you absolutely need to have accounting software and someone doing the work.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
This is a forum for would be Game Store Owners: http://forums.delphiforums.com/gamestore/start

Go there and read everything, then attend the GAMA trade show and take the seminars. You'll learn a lot more about the business than from doing surveys.

mikhaila wrote:
A simple enterprise you can run from a checkbook? This is absolutely wrong. You may not need an accountant, if you have the necessary skills, but you absolutely need to have accounting software and someone doing the work.

Sure it is. Its not like a game store needs to worry about foreign currency transactions or has to find a safe place to hold an extra $100K for 24 hours. Having an understanding of ROI or cost of capital would be handy but not required. A games store is mostly a cash transaction business. Accounts payable are limited to utilities, rent and insurance. If you're lucky, distributors will give you 30 days on product purchases. Accounts receivable should be zero. Balance the check book at the end of the month - if the balance is greater than 1, the doors can stay open for an other 30 days. Having a plan & being knowledgeable about where the money is going is important, but that does not make it complicated.

RanTheCid wrote:

mikhaila wrote:
A simple enterprise you can run from a checkbook? This is absolutely wrong. You may not need an accountant, if you have the necessary skills, but you absolutely need to have accounting software and someone doing the work.

Sure it is. Its not like a game store needs to worry about foreign currency transactions or has to find a safe place to hold an extra $100K for 24 hours. Having an understanding of ROI or cost of capital would be handy but not required. A games store is mostly a cash transaction business. Accounts payable are limited to utilities, rent and insurance. If you're lucky, distributors will give you 30 days on product purchases. Accounts receivable should be zero. Balance the check book at the end of the month - if the balance is greater than 1, the doors can stay open for an other 30 days. Having a plan & being knowledgeable about where the money is going is important, but that does not make it complicated.

Yes, sort of familiar with the concept from running them for 25 years. You oversimply things greatly. Your method was followed by lots of game stores that closed up after 2-3 years.

Jstncloud wrote:

My question is, would anyone here be interested in taking part in a survey (kind of like a email thing) where they would answer some questions, provide feedback, idea, and so forth to help me get a feel for the opinions and thoughts of gamers 'not' local. You can only get so much information from a certain pool of individuals, increasing the range of people asked will give me a better idea of what the 'majority' of gamers would like to see and what ultimately keeps them making purchases.

See what consumers want from a store or business. What would make them enter your store, what would prevent non gamers becoming your customers? don't limit yourself to one section of the comnsumer base. You want people to come into store and will become loyal gaming customers.

Sounds to me like you're headed in the right direction. Substitute the education with previous work experience and a friend of mine went down the same path as you're on right now. After less than a year he's already much further ahead than he thought he'd be for one main reason. He managed what few others can, which is to combine the gamer's passion for the products with the businessman's passion for cold, hard cash

hungryp wrote:Sounds to me like you're headed in the right direction. Substitute the education with previous work experience and a friend of mine went down the same path as you're on right now. After less than a year he's already much further ahead than he thought he'd be for one main reason. He managed what few others can, which is to combine the gamer's passion for the products with the businessman's passion for cold, hard cash

I certainly hope that my path seems this way, only one way to get experience, put yourself out there. I know in my entrepreneurship course we talked about one of the traits is the willingness to try even though there is a chance of a risk, anyone could have a million and one great ideas, but if they never take that chance what do they have? I realize the chance for failure is high but I fancy the idea of working hard for something I am passionate about and something I want to succeed. The "would you like fries with that?" is meaningless beyond pure money making. Just feels good to be around an environment you are familiar with and 'want' to succeed in, might not be the easiest way to make money but at least it is something outside of the ordinary and hey, everyone has to start somewhere, at some point the businesses that are big today were small in their own time.

Assuming the OP is going to a half way decent school he will take all those courses you guys mentioned. I have no doubt with his major he will have all the technical aspects needed to succeed.

I would talk to your professors and advisors and get their ideas and feedback. Not only will this help you in your courses but they will give you invaluable ideas. Being business admin professors they may have contacts with your local chamber of commerce and SBA that can help you out. In other words start networking, life is all about networking...something I wish I knew when I was your age.

if you haven't already, get a part time retail job. That way you can learn about working in retail, it may turn out you hate it. Plus, hopefully, you may learn about customer service, merchandising etc. Don't get a job at a hobby store though as so few of them ever do this stuff so you won't learn anything. Or once you have worked at a regular retail place then you can get a job at a hobby store to learn the insider stuff. I would also get a job in sales at some point. Your store is about selling, if you are uncomfortable with selling than again this might not be for you. Read, read, read books on how to run a retail store, on how to sell, management, etc.

Also, you have to think about that as a hobby store owner you will not get a 401k, have to pay all your health insurance. You will also have to pay those student loans back and probably make a salary less than if you just went and got a regular job working for the man. So you need to really think about if it is worth it.

We wrote:Assuming the OP is going to a half way decent school he will take all those courses you guys mentioned. I have no doubt with his major he will have all the technical aspects needed to succeed.

I would talk to your professors and advisors and get their ideas and feedback. Not only will this help you in your courses but they will give you invaluable ideas. Being business admin professors they may have contacts with your local chamber of commerce and SBA that can help you out. In other words start networking, life is all about networking...something I wish I knew when I was your age.

if you haven't already, get a part time retail job. That way you can learn about working in retail, it may turn out you hate it. Plus, hopefully, you may learn about customer service, merchandising etc. Don't get a job at a hobby store though as so few of them ever do this stuff so you won't learn anything. Or once you have worked at a regular retail place then you can get a job at a hobby store to learn the insider stuff. I would also get a job in sales at some point. Your store is about selling, if you are uncomfortable with selling than again this might not be for you. Read, read, read books on how to run a retail store, on how to sell, management, etc.

Also, you have to think about that as a hobby store owner you will not get a 401k, have to pay all your health insurance. You will also have to pay those student loans back and probably make a salary less than if you just went and got a regular job working for the man. So you need to really think about if it is worth it.

I've definitely weighed the options out, I mean heck I could work at a mill here making just over $10 an hour with 88 hours every two weeks which is not terribly bad but would anyone really wanna do that for 30 years or more?

I totally realize starting my own business could fail and the failure rate is pretty high, but never know until you try, you only live once, and if it is successful awesome, if not at least I can say I gave it a go. In either case, success or failure, at least I can say I did something that revolves around an environment I love, even if it will be tough, I'd rather work with something I am adamant than be stuck pulling plastic molds out of a machine for the rest of my life.

Mr. Burning wrote:

Jstncloud wrote:

My question is, would anyone here be interested in taking part in a survey (kind of like a email thing) where they would answer some questions, provide feedback, idea, and so forth to help me get a feel for the opinions and thoughts of gamers 'not' local. You can only get so much information from a certain pool of individuals, increasing the range of people asked will give me a better idea of what the 'majority' of gamers would like to see and what ultimately keeps them making purchases.

See what consumers want from a store or business. What would make them enter your store, what would prevent non gamers becoming your customers? don't limit yourself to one section of the comnsumer base. You want people to come into store and will become loyal gaming customers.

Your avatar just gave me a giggle, just sayin'.

I'll help with the survey if you like, drop a PM or whatever.

Easy E wrote:MAKE A BUSINESS PLAN!

Capitals for emphasis.

I am a corporate suit and a small business owner. Here are some things to consider.

This is a business, and not just for fun. If you want to make it work, you will have to be willing to sink your heart, soul, money, and life into it. If you can't or won't do that; it WILL fail within the first five years.

Also, keep in mind that being a small store owner means you will work 80+ hours a week and make less than you would as a full-time woker at the Home Depot and have no benefits and a bear a huge risk for loss.

Things to keep in mind.

Kilkrazy wrote:1. Know your customers’ wants and needs.
2. Know your stock inside out. Know what is selling, what is dead, and what is being shoplifted.
3. Be wary of starting a business because you are enthusiastic about it.
a. You will tend to overlook problems because they are spoiling the dream.
b. You’ll work a lot of hours and it may spoil your hobby even if the business is a success.

4. The secret of success in business is to risk other people’s money. Set up a limited company.
5. You will need a good business plan with accurate cost estimates and so on. Use that to borrow money from the bank.

Both of these!

As a person with who ran their own business for many years, who has a bachelor of commerce, and now works in a bank dealing with small business loans, the above is great advice.

Excel will be your friend, learn it inside and out.

Pay for some good accounting and inventory software, this will help alot to keep track of your costs.

Know what you have in your business bank account at all times!!!!! You don't not want to be writting NSF cheques, it will kill your credit and make you look really bad to your vendors.

You need to know REALISTIC expected sales figures for your business plan. Know what you want to sell, where you want to sell it and how you want to run a store is great. However any business will fail if the numbers are bad.

Be prepaired for alot of hard work and stress. Owning your own business is not easy, especially in the first few years. You might have to give up the hobby for a bit as most of your time will be spent on the business. This is the short term sacrifice for a long term gain.

All the courses in the world won't help you if you don't pay attention to the details. A shipment comes it, count it and put it all away in a desiginated spot.

optimusprime14 wrote:

Easy E wrote:MAKE A BUSINESS PLAN!

Capitals for emphasis.

I am a corporate suit and a small business owner. Here are some things to consider.

This is a business, and not just for fun. If you want to make it work, you will have to be willing to sink your heart, soul, money, and life into it. If you can't or won't do that; it WILL fail within the first five years.

Also, keep in mind that being a small store owner means you will work 80+ hours a week and make less than you would as a full-time woker at the Home Depot and have no benefits and a bear a huge risk for loss.

Things to keep in mind.

Kilkrazy wrote:1. Know your customers’ wants and needs.
2. Know your stock inside out. Know what is selling, what is dead, and what is being shoplifted.
3. Be wary of starting a business because you are enthusiastic about it.
a. You will tend to overlook problems because they are spoiling the dream.
b. You’ll work a lot of hours and it may spoil your hobby even if the business is a success.

4. The secret of success in business is to risk other people’s money. Set up a limited company.
5. You will need a good business plan with accurate cost estimates and so on. Use that to borrow money from the bank.

Both of these!

As a person with who ran their own business for many years, who has a bachelor of commerce, and now works in a bank dealing with small business loans, the above is great advice.

Excel will be your friend, learn it inside and out.

Pay for some good accounting and inventory software, this will help alot to keep track of your costs.

Know what you have in your business bank account at all times!!!!! You don't not want to be writting NSF cheques, it will kill your credit and make you look really bad to your vendors.

You need to know REALISTIC expected sales figures for your business plan. Know what you want to sell, where you want to sell it and how you want to run a store is great. However any business will fail if the numbers are bad.

Be prepaired for alot of hard work and stress. Owning your own business is not easy, especially in the first few years. You might have to give up the hobby for a bit as most of your time will be spent on the business. This is the short term sacrifice for a long term gain.

All the courses in the world won't help you if you don't pay attention to the details. A shipment comes it, count it and put it all away in a desiginated spot.

Trying to key in on useful information now, as I have a few years before this plan of mine can potentially unfold, any suggestions on the software you mentioned?

There are quite a few good POS software systems. And if you're looking into doing things in a few years, I wouldn't take a lot of time looking into them right now, unless out of curiosity. In 4 years there will be much better softwar and hardware available, probably 4x better at 1/4 the cost. I've watched POS systems for my shops drop from 20k per location to 4k. A few more years and you'll buy yours for 1-2k.

Jstncloud wrote:
Trying to key in on useful information now, as I have a few years before this plan of mine can potentially unfold, any suggestions on the software you mentioned?

Get very comfortable with Excel right now. It will be your best friend

mikhaila wrote:There are quite a few good POS software systems. And if you're looking into doing things in a few years, I wouldn't take a lot of time looking into them right now, unless out of curiosity. In 4 years there will be much better softwar and hardware available, probably 4x better at 1/4 the cost. I've watched POS systems for my shops drop from 20k per location to 4k. A few more years and you'll buy yours for 1-2k.

Assuming that the software might change but that the same handful of companies will most likely be responsible for newer stuff, so was just wanting an idea of what particular area I should keep an eye on.